Scanning Artwork for Your Digital Portfolio and Prints

In the digital age, artists now have an increasing number of channels and options through which they can showcase and sell their work, whether as original artwork or reproductions, allowing them to reach much larger audiences than before. Whether you’re building a digital portfolio or wanting to reproduce your artwork as prints, starting with a high-quality capture of your artwork is crucial. In this article, we’ll explore different scanning options available to artists, including methods like flatbed scanning and photography, and also explain why opting for a professional fine art scan can provide superior results.  

Desktop Flatbed Scanners: Scanning Artwork at Home

A desktop flatbed scanner is probably what comes to mind when you think of a scanner, and is a common choice for digitizing smaller pieces of artwork (usually up to 11x17). Flatbed scanners provide a flat glass surface that art and documents can be placed on for scanning, and most have an adjustable lid to allow for scanning off thicker materials such as books. 

Due to advances in technology, many at-home consumer flatbed scanners can provide decent results in terms of image quality therefore making it one of the most accessible and convenient options for scanning artwork. 

Here are some key considerations when thinking about flatbed scanners:

Artwork Size: Most flatbed scanners are limited to scanning artwork that is 11x17 inches in size. It may be possible to scan larger pieces in sections, but this will require additional work to digitally stitch the images together. 

Output Size: If you want to use your images for printing, the desired print size will influence the ideal resolution you will want to scan at for a high-quality print. Depending on the possible resolutions of the scanner you are using, you may be limited in print sizing choices. 

Medium/Art Type: Flatbed scanners require you to place your artwork face down on the glass. For drawings, photographs, or paintings without a lot of texture, a flatbed scanner may be a great choice, but for highly textured or more delicate work, there may be a risk of damaging the surface.

Textures: In addition to the face-down scan not being ideal for highly textured work, scans from a flatbed scanner may not be able to actually capture those details properly and scans may come out looking flat. Depending on your desired output and expectations, this may rule out flatbeds for some artists. 

Overall, for many artists, the convenience and relatively low-cost of flatbed scanning is unbeatable as an option for starting to digitize their artwork. 

Photography: Capturing Artwork with a Camera

A Phase One high-resolution camera that is used by some studios for capturing art for the purpose of printing/reproductions.

Photographing artwork is another popular choice for artists who want to digitize their art, and there are several options available that range from using a smartphone or point-and-shoot camera, to using a very specific camera set-up designed for art capture and reproductions. Regardless of the camera used, it requires some technical know-how and attention to detail to achieve optimal results and the quality of your images can vary greatly depending on a number of factors. 

Here are some considerations when thinking about having your work photographed: 

Positioning: Your art should be perfectly parallel to the camera lens to ensure you capture the proper geometry. You can do this by placing/hanging your art flat against a wall, or adjusting the angle of your camera lens. This alone can be one of the more challenging aspects of photographing your own work at home.  

Camera Setup: Since positioning is such a crucial part of photographing your work, fixing your camera in place to avoid shake is also suggested, even if you are using your smart phone. 

Lighting: Having uniform and good lighting is an essential part of a high-quality photograph of your art. The ideal set-up is to have light coming from both sides of the piece to ensure it is even, and to provide enough light in your images to accurately capture colours. Without consistent and even lighting, you may need to perform a lot of post-production on your files. 

Size of Artwork: One key benefit of photographing your art is that you can capture virtually any size - even large wall murals! Depending on the size, you will likely need to break the piece down into multiple sections, all while trying to keep the ideal lighting and positioning in mind. 

Output Size: Like with flatbed scanning, the desire output or print size will have an impact on the resolution and file size you’ll need from a photographed image, and may dictate whether you can achieve high-quality results with a smartphone (which actually can shoot very high-quality with technology advances), or will require a more powerful camera. 

While photography can yield excellent results for fine art reproductions and printing, the technical requirements for capturing a high-quality image can be a challenge for studios or photographers without the proper set-up or experience. Furthermore, a common frustration we hear from artists who try photographing their art is the difficult task of controlling reflections that either make the image unusable or require a lot of post-production work. 

Fine Art Scanning: Purpose-Built for Museum-Quality Reproductions

When it comes to preserving the true essence of your artwork in digital form, opting for a fine art scan, like our Uberscan service, provides unparalleled quality and precision in capturing details, texture, and colour accurately. Fine art scanners are purpose-built for the fine art, design, and culture & heritage industries to capture artwork and other materials with exacting accuracy. When we say purpose-built, we mean that these fine art scanners generally address many of the pitfalls and limitations that other scanning methods may present. 

Here are some reasons that a true fine art scan, like the Uberscan by Colourgenics, stands out: 

Lighting: Fine art scanners, like our Cruse Synchron table scanner, are built with a lighting system that provides even, consistent lighting throughout the entire scan. There are also texture lighting settings available, allowing for the scanner to capture texture, shadows and highlights consistently across your entire image in a way that no other manual set-up can. 

All art/media types: Unlike flatbed scanning, most fine art scanners feature a flat scanning table that allows for artwork to be placed flat and face-up, allowing for the art to be perfectly parallel to the scanning lens which sits directly above. The scanning table or camera (depending on the scanner used), then moves without having to make direct contact with the capture device, avoiding the risk of damaging textured or delicate work. The height and distance of the camera lens also adjusts to the size of the original and the desired scanning resolution, giving you flexibility in the output file.

Large format capabilities: Fine art scanners come in many sizes, however, they can generally accommodate larger artwork sizes. Colourgenics’ Uberscan is able to scan artwork up to 60”x90” in a single scan. 

Archival-grade results: Fine art scanners offer exceptional resolution, colour fidelity, and tonal range, making them the ideal choice for high-quality reproductions and archival purposes. Many of the world’s largest museums, galleries, and cultural institutions either have their own fine art scanners in-house, or work with providers like Colourgenics to digitize and archive art and other documents. 

Professional Expertise: Trained professionals with experience in fine art, colour management, and digital imaging handle the scanning process with most fine art scanners. Because of their specialization and expertise with digitizing art, the image quality you receive will often be far superior to less specialized offerings. 

A true fine art scan is the best starting point to digitize and/or reproduce your work. However, due to the highly specialized nature of the service and scanning equipment, fine art scanning will tend to be the most expensive, but reliable, option. 

Conclusion:

As an artist looking to digitize and/or reproduce your art, selecting the right scanning method is crucial. While photography and flatbed scanners can yield acceptable - and even excellent results - opting for a professional fine art scan like our Uberscan service ensures unparalleled quality, color accuracy, and attention to detail. Investing in a professional scanning service not only enhances your digital portfolio but also empowers you to produce exceptional prints to share your art in its truest form.

To learn more about our Uberscan service and how we can help elevate your artwork to new heights, visit our website.

We hope this article has provided valuable insights into some common methods of scanning artwork for artists. Feel free to reach out to us with any questions or to discuss your specific scanning needs.